Rain drizzled over Silurad like a slow, deliberate whisper, tracing silver lines down windowpanes and cobblestones.
The city was quieter than usual — not silent, but subdued, as though it were still holding its breath after what had happened days ago.
The Gate breach had left its scars not just on the plaza, but on everyone's nerves. The laughter of merchants in the market was forced, and the rhythm of hammers on metal in the forges seemed hesitant.
Life went on, but beneath the surface, everything trembled.
Inside his apartment, Ashen sat in the dim glow of a desk lamp, its light cutting across a cluttered surface strewn with maps, data files, fragments of crystal, and hastily scrawled notes.
His hands hovered above the latest piece — the shard extracted from the Hopper's chest. Even now, it emitted a weak, rhythmic flicker, like a dying heartbeat.
The room smelled faintly of ozone and old rain. Nyra floated quietly beside him, her blue glow dimmed to a soft, almost melancholy shimmer.
[Your heart rate has increased by twelve percent since you picked it up. You've been staring at it for twenty-one minutes without recording any data.] she observed gently.
Ashen leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes with a tired hand.
"I'm… thinking," he muttered.
[You're spiralling…] Nyra corrected.
Her tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable note of concern beneath the words — the kind that came from long observation rather than genuine feeling, but it was so close enough that it made him look up.
[That crystal is reacting to you. More than it should.]
He sighed, picking up the shard between thumb and forefinger. The glow pulsed again, dim then bright, as though acknowledging him.
"It reacted before, too. When I touched it that day."
[Yes.] Nyra replied, the orb drifting closer to scan it with a faint hum.
She remained quiet for a short moment.
[Your neural activity spiked, and you experienced… something akin to a psychic interference pattern. I've reanalysed the data, but I still can't identify the source.]
She marked another pause.
[…You haven't told the Guild about the crystal.]
Ashen's lips twisted.
"They'd confiscate it. Dissect it. And then pretend they understood what happened."
[You think they're hiding something.]
He didn't answer. He didn't need to. His silence spoke for itself.
Outside, thunder rolled faintly across the horizon — the slow growl of an approaching storm. Ashen's gaze drifted to the window, the city lights beyond painted in streaks of gold and shadow.
"The Guild says the Gate's energy readings have stabilised. But… Nyra, what if it's not closed? What if it's dormant?"
Nyra hovered, light flickering.
[There's a twelve-point three percent chance residual anomalies remain active beneath the plaza. The energy readings you collected that night suggest partial temporal instability.]
She hesitated for a long minute, then added softly;
[If you go there, I'll come with you.]
Ashen smiled faintly at that.
"Well… You're not much for staying behind anyway."
[Someone has to keep you alive.]
***
The market plaza was half-cordoned by Guild officers, though the barriers were more symbolic now — thin metal poles with glowing runes marking the perimeter. The once-vibrant space was scarred and uneven, charred stones still slick with rain. A faint scent of burnt metal lingered in the air, mingling with wet stone and ash.
Ashen walked slowly, the hood of his dark coat drawn low. Few people dared linger here after nightfall, so it was the best moment. The lamps that lined the square flickered irregularly, their glow distorted by the residual energy field. He moved past the caution sigils, ignoring the warning hum that rippled through the air.
Nyra's light brightened slightly to illuminate his steps.
[Radiation levels are below critical, but resonance distortions persist in the 0.02 frequency range. Proceed carefully.]
'Noted'
Once at the destination, Ashen knelt near the crater where the Gate had torn through space itself. The ground was fractured, glassy in places. He pulled his resonance dagger from its Theath, pressing its edge lightly against the surface.
The blade vibrated faintly, emitting a low, harmonic tone.
Nyra scanned the air thoroughly.
[The energy signature matches that of the Hopper crystal, though significantly weaker. It's decaying — but not naturally.]
Ashen frowned.
"You mean something's keeping it active?"
[Or someone…] she replied.
She paused for a short moment, scanned again and continued:
[…Resonance flow suggests deliberate interference.]
He pressed the blade deeper, eyes narrowing as a faint shimmer rippled across the crater's edge — like heat distortion. Beneath the glassy layer, veins of pale light still pulsed faintly. The resonance from his dagger reacted to it, emitting a shrill hum.
The sight made his stomach tighten.
"Nyra… record this pattern, please."
[Already done.]
A pause.
[Ashen, I recommend retreating. The resonance field is becoming unstable.]
He didn't move. The hum deepened, vibrating through his bones. Something inside him — the same irrational pull that made him touch the crystal in the first place — urged him to stay.
His fingers tightened around the dagger.
He could almost feel the echoes again — faint screams, the thunder of kovatar tearing through the air, the blinding light that had swallowed the square. The images clawed at the edge of his vision, half-memory, half-nightmare.
[You're shaking.] Nyra noted, voice softening.
"I'm fine."
[You're not.]
He clenched his jaw, forcing a slow breath.
"Just… keep scanning."
The distortion flickered again — and this time, for an instant, he saw something move beneath the fractured surface. A shadow, shifting like ink through water. His pulse spiked.
"Nyra—"
[Detected. Unstable energy surge beneath surface. Unknown signature.] she interrupted sharply, her voice losing all its gentleness.
Ashen leapt back as the ground split open with a hiss, releasing a burst of cold light. He shielded his eyes, resonance pistol already in his other hand.
The beam faded, revealing—
…Not a new Gate.
Rather, it was a pattern etched into the stone, glowing faintly.
Not random. Constructed.
It resembled a symbol — circular, geometric, almost ritualistic in nature.
[That's… familiar,] Nyra said, her tone distant.
'Familiar?'
[But I can't access the full reference.]
"You've seen it before?"
[Yes. But… the data's corrupted.]
Ashen crouched, studying the pattern. His reflection rippled faintly in the wet stone — the single grey lock of his hair glinting in the half-light. Somehow, the pattern seemed to pulse in time with the shard in his pocket.
Taking it out, he hesitated for a couple of seconds, then held it above the glowing circle. The shard responded instantly, flaring with energy.
[Stop—!] Nyra started, but the surge hit before she could finish.
A wave of resonance rippled outward, knocking Ashen off his feet. His pistol skittered across the ground as the light flared white-hot, then died in an instant.
When he looked up, the symbol was gone, erased as though it had never been there.
The air smelled of ozone again, stronger now.
Sitting up slowly, Ashen groaned.
"Nyra… report."
[You… triggered a resonance feedback loop] she said, hovering anxiously beside him.
"A feedback loop?"
[The symbol emitted a counter-frequency. It erased its own imprint.]
The wanderer rubbed his temples.
"So someone didn't want it found."
[Or… didn't want you to find it.]
Her light dimmed again as she scanned the surrounding area.
[Ashen, there's something else. The crystal's energy signature changed. Its frequency is now partially synchronised with your neural pattern.]
Ashen's head immediately jerked toward her.
"What?"
[You're linked to it.]
He stared at the shard in his hand. The glow was faint, but steady — and when he focused, he could almost feel it… A dull throb in the back of his mind, like the echo of a heartbeat that wasn't his.
"I don't feel—"
He stopped.
That wasn't true.
…He did.
A whisper. A flicker of something not entirely his own, brushing against the edge of consciousness — faint voices, blurred and indistinct.
[You're experiencing resonance bleed.] Nyra said quietly.
"Is it something serious?"
[It's dangerous.]
He stood, slipping the shard back into his coat.
"Well, if it's linked to me, then maybe it can lead us to whoever's behind this."
[You're assuming there is someone.] Nyra replied.
"Trust me… There's always someone."
His voice was low, but certain.
The rain fell harder by now, tapping against his coat and the stone around him. The plaza seemed emptier than before… or maybe just quieter.
Nyra hovered beside him, silent for a moment before speaking again, softly this time.
[You keep chasing answers that will hurt you, Ashen.]
He looked at her — at the little orb that had followed him for years, glowing faintly in the dark.
"That's the only kind that matters."
[And if they kill you?]
He gave her a small, tired smile.
"Then at least I'll die knowing why."
***
Later, back in his apartment, the rain had turned into a steady downpour.
Ashen placed the crystal on his desk again, watching the light refract through it in tiny, fractured beams. The resonance dagger rested nearby, humming softly — reacting to the shard even when untouched.
Nyra was silent for a long while, her glow pulsing faintly in the shadows.
[You should rest... Your brainwave activity is erratic. And your hands are still shaking.] she finally said.
Ashen didn't answer. He stared at the shard, lost in thought.
[You're afraid.] Nyra observed quietly.
He blinked, glancing at her.
"You can read fear now?"
[I can read you.]
That made him chuckle, though it was a hollow sound.
"Ah! Maybe I am. But not of what's in there."
He nodded toward the crystal.
"I'm afraid of what it means… Every time I get closer to something, it feels like the world pulls back. Like someone doesn't want me knowing the truth."
[And yet you still chase it.]
"Yeah."
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing:
"Because if I stop, then whoever opened that Gate wins."
Nyra's tone softened to something almost maternal.
[You carry too much alone.]
He smiled faintly.
"And you… You're starting to sound like her."
[I might sound like a defective device, but… Was she important to you?]
He hesitated for a short moment, then nodded once.
"Yeah. She was everything."
[You loved her ?]
"Of course."
Nyra didn't respond. Her glow dimmed, as though she understood — or at least respected his silence.
Outside, thunder rumbled again. The world beyond the window was veiled in rain and shadow, and for a brief moment, Ashen thought he saw movement — a flicker of something shifting in the reflection.
He turned sharply—
Nothing.
…Only his own tired face looking back at him.
Nyra's voice was a whisper now.
[Residual resonance detected again. Not from the shard. External source.]
He straightened.
"Where?"
[Unknown. It's faint — moving fast.]
Ashen reached for his pistol, eyes scanning the dark corners of the room. The sound of rain filled the silence.
Nothing moved. The readings faded.
[It's gone.] Nyra said.
After a moment, she added:
[—But it was there.]
Exhaling, Ashen lowered the weapon slowly. The pulse of his heartbeat filled the quiet.
"I know."
He turned back to the desk. The shard pulsed once, faintly, as if acknowledging him… Or warning him.
Nyra's light hovered closer.
[You think it's connected to the next Gate, don't you?]
Ashen didn't answer. His eyes were distant, lost in the play of light across the crystal's surface.
The rain outside intensified, drumming a steady rhythm against the windows — the sound of a city still haunted, still waiting. And somewhere, deep within the shard, a flicker of light pulsed again — faint, deliberate, almost like a heartbeat.
The echoes hadn't faded. They were only waiting to be heard.
"Let's find out." He finally murmured.